About the University
Executive Council
The president’s Executive Council includes the vice presidents and other senior level direct reports.
Havidán Rodríguez, President
Carol H. Kim, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
Mark Benson, Director of Athletics
Michael N. Christakis, Vice President for Student Affairs
James A. Dias, Vice President for Research
Todd D. Foreman, Vice President for Finance and Administration
Tamra Minor, Chief Diversity Officer and Assistant Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion
Janet M. Thayer, Senior Managing Counsel
Fardin Sanai, Vice President for University Advancement and Executive Director of the University at Albany Foundation
Sheila Seery, Vice President, Government and Community Relations
Bruce Szelest, Chief of Staff
University at Albany, State University of New York
Located in New York’s capital city, the University at Albany is the Capital Region's premier public research University. Founded in 1844 as the first public institution of higher learning in New York State, it comprises three campuses and offers more than 17,600 students the expansive opportunities of a large university in an environment designed to foster individual success.
Academic Excellence
Undergraduate, graduate, and international students have access to more than 50 undergraduate and 150 graduate programs in some of the most in-demand programs today, such as electrical and computer engineering, homeland security, digital forensics, financial market regulation, and public health.
Students are instructed by world-class scholars and teachers - many actively engaged in life-enhancing research that contributes profoundly to the public good. As mentors, faculty provide numerous student-research opportunities at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, inspiring students to advance their skills and aspirations.
Nationally Renowned Programs
The excellence of a UAlbany education is recognized by many independent sources. UAlbany is ranked among the top universities in Forbes’ “America’s Best Public Colleges,” and U.S. News & World Report consistently ranks many of our graduate programs among the top 50 in the United States, including clinical psychology, criminal justice, library and information studies, public affairs, public health, sociology, and social work.
Strategic Location
New York's Capital Region has the highest employment rate in Upstate New York and is home to bustling industries like government, technology, business, healthcare and education. The University's location provides students with limitless opportunities for internships and public service through which they gain experience, test their skills, and prepare to launch successful careers.
The area is also a vibrant center for culture and entertainment. Among its attractions are the New York State Museum and Library and the Times Union Center, a major Northeast entertainment and sports venue. Close by are the Berkshire, Catskill, and Adirondack mountains, as well as Saratoga Springs, a destination famed for recreational and cultural opportunities. The University is approximately 2.5 hours from NYC, Boston and Montreal.
Career Preparation
UAlbany prepares students to pursue careers in a wide range of professions and enter top graduate, law, and medical schools. Students have access to internships and career preparation in every field, including Fortune 500 businesses, early assurance opportunities with some of the leading health care facilities, and a unique partnership with Albany Law School.
Global Perspectives
In today’s world, global awareness and knowledge are crucial to success in business, education, research, and public policy. At UAlbany students can expand their world view with more than 1,000 study abroad programs available through UAlbany and SUNY networks.
UAlbany’s student body and faculty represent more than 100 nations. Their varied perspectives and life experiences greatly enrich the international dimensions of campus learning.
21st Century Facilities
State-of-the-art facilities support the excellence of the University's programs. The Life Sciences Research Building which hosts The RNA Institute on the Uptown Campus and the Cancer Research Center on the University's Health Sciences Campus offer laboratories and high-tech instrumentations that advance learning and research. The Massry Center for Business, an open and interactive, state-of-the-art LEED Gold-certified facility, offers a world-class learning and entrepreneurial environment. And slated for completion in 2021, the Emerging Technology and Entrepreneurship Complex (ETEC) will provide state-of-the-art research, instruction, and entrepreneurial-focused space to advance some of UAlbany's nationally recognized programs.
A Vibrant and Engaged Community
Public engagement is deeply embedded in the University’s culture. UAlbany works with internal and external partners to address critical societal challenges through community-engaged research, teaching, service, and creative activities that contribute to the overall public good. In 2018, the University community contributed more than 12,500 hours to the community in service.
UAlbany also offers more than 250 student-run clubs and organizations – everything from pre-professional organizations to ultimate frisbee and everything in between.
An Alumni Network 176,000+ Strong
Since its founding 175 years ago, UAlbany has graduated generations of leaders in all fields. Alumni include rapper-actress, Awkwafina; Monte and Avery Lipman, founders, CEO, and COO of Republic Records, one of the world's premier recording labels representing artists such as Jesse J, Florida Georgia Line, and Drake; Secretary of the Army John McHugh; and trailblazing neuroscientist Sheila Nirenberg, winner of a MacArthur Foundation “Genius Grant.” Today UAlbany has a global network of more than 176,000 alumni making a difference around the world.
Intercollegiate Athletics
UAlbany’s intercollegiate athletics program, with 18 sports and 490 student-athletes competing at the NCAA Division I level, has achieved increasing success. UAlbany Athletics is a member of the America East Conference, Colonial Athletic Association (Football) and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (Women’s Golf).
Accreditation
The University is chartered by the Board of Regents of New York State, which has registered all of its degrees and programs and fully approved its professional programs through the State Education Department. UAlbany is also a member of the Council of Graduate Schools in the U.S., and is fully accredited by Middle States Commission on Higher Education. UAlbany also holds specialized program accreditation from the following accreditors:
- American Chemical Society
- American Library Association
- American Psychological Association, Commission on Accreditation
- Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business
- Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation
- Council on Education for Public Health
- Council on Social Work Education
- National Association of School Psychologists
- Network of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration
- New York State Office of Professions
- Planning Accreditation Board
Organization
The University enrolls students in nine degree-granting schools and colleges including its Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity; the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy; and its Schools of Business, Criminal Justice, Education, Public Health, and Social Welfare. Both the Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost and the Office of the Vice President for Research work jointly with the academic units in curricular and research areas.
The Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education is responsible for the coordination of the academic experience of undergraduate students and works closely with the deans and faculty of the individual schools and colleges in developing, coordinating, and implementing undergraduate academic policy and curricula. Non-degree study at the undergraduate level is coordinated by the Office of General Studies and Summer Sessions.
The Campuses
The Uptown Campus, the University’s main campus, is located at 1400 Washington Avenue in Albany, and has been described as “a distinctive work of modern art.” Designed in 1961-62 by renowned American architect Edward Durell Stone (1902-1978), the campus reflects Stone’s signature style of bold unified design, expressed by its towers, domes, fountains, soaring colonnades and sweeping canopy. The result is dramatically different from the dispersed buildings and disparate architectural styles of most traditional university campuses.
The Uptown Campus features the Performing Arts Center, boasting several theatres, recital halls, and rehearsal instructional space; the University Art Museum, one of the finest regional museums in the Northeast; and the New York State Writers Institute, a broad educational base for readers and writing students promoting the literary arts.
Each of four residence quadrangles on the Uptown Campus house approximately 1,200 students and include eight, three-story halls and a 23-story tower. Each quadrangle includes lounges, recreational areas and dining facilities. Nearby, Freedom Apartments has apartment-style living, and Empire Commons provides single-room apartment-style living for 1,200 students. Liberty Terrace, an architecturally award-winning, environmentally friendly living complex, provides another 500 apartment-style beds. Housing is also available on Alumni Quadrangle, located near the Downtown Campus.
Other special facilities on the Uptown Campus include the NYS Mesonet - a National Weather Service meteorological laboratory, a linear accelerator for physics research, and a cutting-edge data center that supports high-performance computing and networking.
The hub of student activity is the recently renovated and expanded Campus Center. It includes a 400-seat auditorium, a two-level fitness center, and enhanced dining facilities with market-style food service venues, as well as a Barnes and Noble Bookstore.
Outdoor recreational facilities include lighted tennis courts, basketball and volleyball courts, and several multipurpose playing areas, including a multi-use synthetic turf field for student recreational and intramural use.
Indoor athletic facilities are dominated by the SEFCU Arena. With an arena seating capacity of nearly 4,800, the facility is home to NCAA Division I Great Dane basketball, and also houses a running track, a modern fitness center, a fully equipped athletic training complex with whirlpools and other rehabilitative equipment, two main locker rooms, and several smaller team locker rooms. All facilities are handicapped accessible and have designated seating areas for handicapped spectators. The Physical Education Center includes a pool, locker rooms, weight and wrestling rooms, a dance studio, and basketball, handball and squash courts.
The University boasts Tom & Mary Casey Stadium, an 8,500-seat multi-sports facility which is home to football and men's and women's soccer, as well as a nine-lane track surface and natural turf for its championship track and field program.
The Downtown Campus, located at 135 Western Avenue in Albany, is a classic Georgian-style complex that served from as the main campus from 1909-1966. It houses the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy, the School of Criminal Justice, and the School of Social Welfare, as well as the new College of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the new College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity.
The Health Sciences Campus, located at One University Place in Rensselaer, solidifies the strong intersection of academia, government and the private sector – entities that collaborate in mutually beneficial ways to further the understanding of health and disease.
Home to the largest concentration of individual health science-related entities in the Capital Region, the Health Sciences Campus is anchored by the University’s School of Public Health and Cancer Research Center with its Center for Functional Genomics. Other campus residents include organizations such as Regeneron, Albany Molecular Research, Taconic, and select research divisions of Albany Medical College and Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, as well as a dozen other area start-up and biomedical organizations.
The campus is also home to a highly collaborative, 30-year partnership between the School of Public Health and the New York State Department of Health.
Libraries
Three campus libraries comprise the University Libraries, which house more than two million print volumes and provide access to hundreds of thousands of online resources. As a member of the Association of Research Libraries, University Libraries rank among the largest and most comprehensive research libraries in North America. Users from around the world access services and collections through the Libraries' online systems and website, library.albany.edu. The Libraries offer a program of information literacy and user-education with instruction that ranges from a focus on traditional bibliographic access to collaborative classes integrated into the curriculum.
Two of the campus libraries, the University Library and the Science Library, are located on the Uptown Campus. The third, the Dewey Graduate Library, is on the Downtown Campus.
University Library contains the largest collection of circulating volumes, the Interactive Media Center, a collection of computer hardware and software that support the curriculum, and the Government Documents Collection, a selective depository for U.S. documents. The Science Library houses the M. E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives. The Dewey Graduate Library supports graduate research in the fields of public affairs, public administration and policy, criminal justice, political science, social welfare, and information science and policy.
For more information concerning the rich history, traditions and achievements of the University at Albany, please visit the University’s website at: www.albany.edu.
